Apple is poaching Berlin-based mapping engineers from Here

Apple has been on a hiring spree in Berlin, quietly poaching several engineers away from automotive mapping company Here over the last few months.

The Cupertino-headquartered company has hired at least half a dozen employees from Here — owned by German automotive companies Audi, BMW, and Daimler — for a Berlin-based Apple Maps team, according to LinkedIn.

“In the past several months, Apple has hired several people away from Here for mapping jobs in Berlin,” a local source told Business Insider.

Hires include:

Khang Tran — a senior software engineer at Here. He joined Apple as a software engineer this month.

Gilbert Schulz — a program manager at Here. He joined Apple in April and currently works on the Apple Maps team.

Konstantin Sinitsyn — a senior software engineer at Here. He joined Apple last November as a software engineer.

Manfred Reich — regional map and content lead, Eastern Europe region at Here. He joined Apple in July 2015 after spending seven years at Here Maps and currently works on the Apple Maps team.

Andrey Arsentyev — a product manager at Here Maps. He joined Apple in May 2015 and currently works on the Apple Maps team.

Torsten Krenz — a director at Here where he worked for more than two and a half years. He joined Apple in August 2014 and currently works on the Maps team.

When asked how many people Apple has hired from Here in Berlin and what they’re working on, Sinitsyn said: “I appreciate your interest, but no, I can’t really tell you.”

None of the other former Here employees responded to Business Insider’s request for comment.

It’s unclear whether Apple has a secret office in Berlin or whether it is employing people remotely. Apple has never publicly confirmed that it has an office in Berlin. Two Berliners working in the city’s tech industry told Business Insider that they weren’t aware of an Apple office in Berlin.

German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine reported in April that Apple is using a secret Berlin lab to build the Apple Car. The laboratory was reportedly home to 15-20 staff with backgrounds in engineering, software, hardware, and sales.

Bloomberg reported in October that Apple has given up building the Apple Car, for now, choosing instead to focus on developing autonomous driving systems that it could sell to car manufacturers.

Apple and Here did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.